“We are inconsolable at being deceived by our enemies and being betrayed by our friends, yet we are often content in being treated like that by our own selves.” (Francois de La Rochefoucauld)
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In Your Own Words…
In your own words, what is the main idea of the quote above by the 17th century French writer Francoise de La Rochefoucauld?
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” (Albert Einstein)
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Getting Personal
Through personal experience or observation of others, what would be a good example of self-deception?
How could self-deception be a problem for achieving success in life?
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INSIGHTS for SUCCESS
“You can fool yourself, you know. You’d think it’s impossible, but it turns out it’s the easiest thing of all.” (Jodi Picoult)
Useful and meaningful self-reflections may often require serious and periodic “reality checks.” Communicating with oneself loses much of its value if you are not honest with yourself. Our inner dialogues can easily lead us to unrealistic and self-destructive conclusions, if we are not diligently on the lookout for the undermining influences of the many forms of self-deception.
“Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.” (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
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